


Sole Strike

by The_Epitome_of_Pretense



Series: The Sole Saga [23]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Banter, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Far Harbor, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 01:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17458070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Epitome_of_Pretense/pseuds/The_Epitome_of_Pretense
Summary: During their visit to Far Harbor, Sole and Nick decide to explore an old bowling alley. What better place to discuss their relationship?





	Sole Strike

The Beaver Creek Lanes bowling alley almost reminded Sole of the old days; were it not for the collapsed ceiling and dead ferals everywhere, she might have been convinced. 

She holstered her pistol and checked her store of ammo. There was more than enough to get by if they ran into another infestation. 

Nick wandered some paces away, surveying the room. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and whistled.

“Boy, would you look at this place,” he said. “Could use some tidying up.”

“I wonder what happened to it,” Sole said. 

“Eh, owners probably got lazy. Real shame to see a place like this go downhill.”

“Sure is,” she chuckled. 

He cast her a sidelong glance.

“I would challenge you to a game, but I’ll bet you can’t calibrate your arm sensitivity, now can you?” he said.

“You’re on,” she said. 

“Oh. I wasn’t serious.”

“But I am. Come on, let’s get this floor cleared off. There’s got to be a broom around here somewhere…”

She found a termite-eaten push broom in the back office, and within ten minutes, they had picked up and swept away all the dust and bits of ceiling from one lane and set up the pins. Nick ducked into the snack bar and returned with a ball. 

“Found this stuck in the floor. It’s a bit lighter weight than what I like, but it’ll do.”

Sole took it and started for the mark. 

“Ladies first,” she said. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ll look that much better when my turn comes around.”

“I’m gonna make you eat those words.”

She stepped up to the lane, took aim, and rolled. The ball went right where she wanted—until it hit a bump and skidded to the side.

A moment passed before she could bring herself to turn around. When she did, she found Nick with a hand pressed to his lips, holding back a laugh.

“What was that about making me eat those words?” he said.

She felt herself flush. She crossed her arms.

“I’d like to see you do better on this messed up floor,” she huffed.

“Watch and learn,” he said with a wry grin.

He strolled up and down the lane, humming to himself, noting the places where the wood had buckled and rotted. He picked the ball out of the gutter and made his way to the mark. He rolled—the ball hit a bump, but instead of going sideways, it slid over, then zigzagged between the other imperfections and ricocheted its way down the lane. Not a single pin was left standing.

He turned to her with a triumphant grin.

“Well!” she said. “How am I supposed to compete with a guy who’s got a computer brain?”

“See, that’s just the problem. Games like these aren’t any fun when you can just calculate everything. I can’t even play poker anymore; I count cards without even realizing it.”

“Aw, poor thing.”

“I’m serious. There’s no challenge to it anymore. Watch.”

He waited until the old, grinding mechanisms reset the pins, then went again. Another strike. 

“See?” he said. “I could do that just about every time, too.”

Sole studied the lane for a moment, trying to think of a way to make the game entertaining for someone with perfect aim. 

“So you can get a strike,” she said with a shrug. “But can you get just that one in the back corner?”

He smirked. 

“Let’s see.”

He rolled through, but only brushed the pin just enough to make it totter a bit before righting itself. Another try did the job; Sole grinned to see the look of concentration on Nick’s face. That was new; before, he just wore an expression of calm assurance. 

They played on, Sole calling out different combinations of toppled pins, and Nick striving to make it happen. 

“Bet you can’t get just the one in the middle,” Sole said, elbowing his side. 

“Sure I can.”

“Liar.”

“Oh just you wait. Close your eyes a minute.”

“Why do I have to close my eyes?”

“Humor me.”

“Fine.”

She heard him set down the ball and sneak along the lane. After a moment, the sound of his footsteps returned. 

“Ta-da,” he said. 

Sole opened her eyes. Sure enough, the middle pin was on its side. 

“You’re so talented, knocking it over without even using the ball,” she chuckled.

“What can I say, I’m one of a kind.”

“I’d love to see how you do against your brother.”

“Sure,” he said, stooping to pick up the ball. “We can invite Piper and Jim and the whole gang and make a night of it.”

“And don’t forget Kent and KL-E-0 and John—I mean, Hancock.”

Nick seemed to falter for a moment. If she had not spent so much time around him, she might not have noticed how his eyes flicked away for half a second. A tinge of guilt twisted her stomach. She wondered if she should ask him about it. 

“Here, why don’t you see if you can knock down the rest,” he said, handing her the ball. 

She took it and sent  it down the lane. Same as before, it hit a bump and swerved to the side, where it lodged itself in the debris-filled gutter. 

“I got it,” she said, and started off at a jog along the lane. 

She crossed a spot that had not been ravaged by time as much as the rest of the floor. Her foot slipped out from beneath her. She threw out her arms to steady herself. It did not help. Before she knew it, she found herself on her back, staring up at the rotten ceiling. 

Laughter echoed throughout the room. She glanced at Nick to find him doubled over, hands on his knees, his shoulders shaking. 

“Look out, Doll…” he said between breaths, “Floor’s slippery, you know.”

“Hey!” She said, starting to laugh, herself. “You mean old thing, cut that out.”

“Sorry…” he said, “You… you alright?”

Just then, an idea struck her. She started to get to her feet, then let herself fall back to the floor. She wrapped her arms about her middle and groaned.

“My back…” she said.

Nick fell silent. He rushed over to her.

“Here, let me help you up,” he said, his voice heavy with concern.

She took his hand and yanked. The slick floor did the rest of her work for her. He stumbled and toppled to the ground. 

Now Sole erupted with laughter. She sat up and said,

“Oh Nicky, did you fall? Floor’s slippery, you know.”

He reached over and playfully shoved her back down.

“Probably because there’s an ice cube on it,” he said.

“Is your personality okay?” She chuckled. 

“I’d be more worried about the floor.”

“Yeah, you are a real hard-ass.”

“You would know.”

“So ornery today! Come ’ere.”

She grabbed under his arms and tried to pull him to her, but only managed to drag herself closer to him. He shifted to where he could lay his head on her stomach.

“You may not be able to bowl for beans, but you sure make a good pillow,” he said, settling himself further. 

She laid her arm over his shoulders. He took her hand and pressed her closer; she savored the heat. But she couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked away when she mentioned John. She took a deep breath.

“Can we talk about something?” she said. 

“Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s about Hancock.”

His hand twitched. He let out a breath.

“What about him?” he said.

“I think you should know why I call him ‘John’ nowadays.”

“No, that’s… that’s alright. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Don’t you want to know? I think that you might have the wrong idea of what happened in Goodneighbor after,” she paused, “after I left.”

He shrugged.

“Whatever happened… I don’t know. I feel like it’s not really my business. After all, I had just broken your heart, and if you wanted to—ah—spend an evening with him, then I don’t think I have the right to say much about it.”

Sole almost laughed. 

“Yeah, you definitely got the wrong idea.”

“I did?” He said, surprised. She couldn’t help but notice the hint of hope in his tone.

“Sort of. He found me at the Third Rail attempting to dabble in alcoholism, then we got to talking about what happened…”

Nick squeezed her hand. 

“I just about lost my cool at the bar,” she continued, “so we went into the VIP room to talk in private. Pretty soon the talking turned to—to kissing, and—”

“I thought you said I got the wrong idea.”

“You did, you did. Let me finish.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway. I—” she hesitated to tell the rest. But she felt that this story wasn’t the kind to be left unfinished. “I admit that I tried to take it further, but he put a stop to it.”

Nick rested his hands across his middle.

“That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Then he told me that he would rather just be my friend than end up as one of my regrets.”

“Huh. Is that so?”

“But here’s the thing.” she reached out and pulled both of his hands back into her own. 

“He was absolutely right; I would have regretted us getting together. I guess he could tell I was crazy about you. At any rate, he did me a good turn. And it just didn’t feel right to call him ‘Hancock’ after that.”

He nodded, looking thoughtful. 

“Thanks for telling me,” he said.

“Well. Now that we’re throwing around the L-word, I figured there shouldn’t be any secrets.”

“I appreciate it.”

“It’s funny. I still have regrets about it.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t even kissed him. I was just desperate and lonely and…” she let her words die away. She already knew that Nick felt terrible about the whole ordeal; going on would only pour salt on the wound.

“I wish I hadn’t put you through that,” he muttered.

“Oh, Nicky,” she kissed his good hand. “How many times to I have to tell you to stop apologizing?”

“I’ll get it one of these days.”

She sidled out from under him and stretched out on his chest.

“How about I give you something else to think about?” she said.

She did not wait for him to answer. She cradled the back of his neck and lifted his lips to hers. He wrapped his arms over her back, pressing her close.

And for a time, everything was almost like the old days.

 


End file.
